Vehicular seat

ABSTRACT

A vehicle seat having a seat back and seat cushion connected thereto, the seat back and seat cushion being retractable to a retraction floor disposed lower than a vehicle body floor, is described. The vehicle seat includes: a support base connected to the body floor, disposed below the seat cushion, and pivotally connected to a lower end of the seat back; a detachable leg having an upper end attached to the seat cushion and a lower end connectable to the support base; a leg retaining member attached to the support base and configured to detachably retain the lower end of the detachable leg; and a base cover that covers the support base. The leg retaining member is disposed at a rear side of a front end of a portion of the base cover in a front to back direction that is configured to cover the support base from above.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/897,760, filed Dec. 11, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,884,571,which is the National Stage Entry application of PCT Application No.PCT/JP2014/065611, filed Jun. 12, 2014, which claims the prioritybenefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-125559, filed Jun. 14,2013, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-049935, filed Mar. 13,2014, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle seat, and particularly to avehicle seat having a seat back and a seat cushion connected to the seatback, the seat back and the seat cushion being retractable to aretraction floor formed in a position lower than a vehicle body floor.

Conventionally, vehicle seats have been known in which a seat bodyhaving a seat cushion and a seat back can be retracted in a retractionfloor formed in a position lower than a vehicle body floor. Among thosevehicle seats, there is a vehicle rear seat which is configured so thata seat body is tilted forward to be retracted in a retraction floorarranged at a front side of the seat, for example, see Japanese PatentDocument No. 2009-067309A (referred to herein as “the '309 Document”).

A vehicle seat described in the '309 Document has a retraction structureincluding: an attachment shaft, which is attached to a vehicle bodyfloor to support a seat back so that the seat back can pivot, and a legmember, which has an upper end supporting a front portion of a seatcushion and a lower end pivotally retained by a retaining groove fixedon a retraction floor. At the time of a retracting operation of a seatbody, the seat back pivots relative to the vehicle body floor to movethe seat cushion to the retraction floor and the leg member pivots aboutthe retaining groove in conjunction with the seat back; thereby, theseat body is configured to be retracted in the retraction floor. Inaddition, the leg member is detached from the retaining groove;thereafter, the vehicle seat can change from a “seatable” state where anoccupant can be seated to a “tip-up” state where the seat cushion istipped up.

However, the seat that can retract the seat body in the retraction flooras in the '309 Document has a more complicated retraction structure inorder to retract the seat body in a such a way that components such asthe leg member for supporting the seat back so that the seat back canpivot, the retaining groove, and the like are attached not only to asurface of the vehicle body floor at which the seat body is arranged butalso to a surface of the retraction floor. Therefore, a vehicle seatwhich can be retracted in a retraction floor utilizing a more simplestructure is desirable. In addition, a vehicle seat which can secure alarge retraction space is desirable.

Further, in the seat as described in the '309 Document, the leg memberthat supports the seat cushion is connected between the seat cushion andthe retraction floor, therefore being an elongated member. Thus, in theevent of change the seat body between the seatable state and the tip-upstate, the leg member is detached from the retaining groove. However, anentire length of the leg member is long and therefore a pivotable rangethereof in a front to back direction increases. As a result, anoperation to fit the leg member into the retaining groove is difficult.Therefore, a vehicle seat which more easily changes from the seatablestate is desirable.

Furthermore, in the seat as described in the '309 Document, for thepurpose of protection from impacts or the like from outside, in general,a cover member of resin for covering from above the attachment shaft,the retaining groove, and the like that configure the retractionstructure is attached. However, facilitation of a seat state changingoperation by utilizing this cover member has not been considered.Therefore, a vehicle seat which more easily changes from a seatablestate by utilizing a cover member for covering components of aretraction structure from above is desirable.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is made in view of the above-mentioned problems,and the present disclosure describes various embodiments of a vehicleseat which is retractable to a retraction floor by a generally simplestructure. Further, the present disclosure describes embodiments of avehicle seat which can secure a large retraction space without thearrangement of components of a retraction structure on a surface of aretraction floor. Furthermore, the present disclosure describesembodiments of a vehicle seat which more easily changes from a seatablestate to another state.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure, discussed below, havebeen made in view of the above-described problems and provide a vehicleseat having a seat back and a seat cushion connected to the seat back,the seat back and the seat cushion being retractable to a retractionfloor formed in a position lower than a vehicle body floor, the vehicleseat including: a support base connected to the vehicle body floor,disposed below the seat cushion, and pivotally connected to a lower endof the seat back so that the lower end of the seat back is pivotable; adetachable leg having an upper end attached to the seat cushion and alower end connectable to the support base; a leg retaining memberattached to the support base and configured to retain the lower end ofthe detachable leg so that the lower end of the detachable leg isdetachable; and a base cover that covers the support base from above thesupport base, where the leg retaining member is disposed at a rear sideof a front end of a portion of the base cover in a front to backdirection of the seat, the portion of the base cover configured to coverthe support base from above the support base.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the vehicle seat havinga seat back and a seat cushion connected to the seat back, the seat backand the seat cushion being retractable to a retraction floor formed in aposition lower than a vehicle body floor, can be implemented with a moresimple structure without any components disposed on the retractionfloor, the simple structure including: the support base disposed on thevehicle body floor to support the seat back so that the seat back ispivotable; the detachable leg supporting the seat cushion; the legretaining member attached to the support base and retaining the lowerend of the detachable leg so that the lower end of the detachable leg isdetachable; and the base cover covering the support base from above. Inparticular, the leg retaining member retaining the detachable leg isdisposed at the rear side of the front end of the portion of the basecover in the front to back direction of the seat, the portion coveringthe support base from above the support base. Accordingly, thedetachable leg and the leg retaining member are disposed so as not toprotrude from the support base and the base cover toward the front sideof the seat. Therefore, a larger space can be secured at the front sideof the seat. In addition, all of the support base, the detachable leg,the leg retaining member, and the base cover that configure componentsof a retraction structure are disposed on the vehicle body floor;therefore, a large retraction space can be secured in the retractionfloor. Moreover, the leg retaining member is disposed not on theretraction floor as in the prior art but on the vehicle body floor;therefore, an entire length of the detachable leg can be reduced. Theshorter the entire length of the detachable leg is, the shorter apivotable range of the detachable leg in the front to back direction is.Thus, the detachable leg is easily retained by the leg retaining member.Consequently, a vehicle seat that more easily changes from a seatablestate is obtained.

In some embodiments, it is preferable that the seat back is pivotablerelative to the support base to move the seat cushion to the retractionfloor, that the detachable leg pivots relative to the seat cushion basedon a movement of the seat cushion to be detachable from the legretaining member, that the base cover includes a leg guide portion whichguides the detachable leg so that the detachable leg detached from theleg retaining member is retracted to the seat cushion, and that the legguide portion is disposed, relative to the detachable leg, in adirection of the movement of the seat cushion. According to theabove-mentioned configuration, the leg guide portion of the base coverguides the detachable leg so that the detachable leg is retracted to theseat cushion; therefore, the seat is more easily changed from theseatable state to a retracted state. In addition, the detachable leg isretracted to the seat cushion; therefore, the seat body is compactlyretracted in the retraction floor.

In some embodiments, preferably, the upper end of the detachable legattached to the seat cushion is disposed at a front side of the lowerend of the detachable leg connected to the support base in the front toback direction of the seat. According to the above-mentionedconfiguration, the upper end of the detachable leg is disposed at thefront side of the lower end of the detachable leg. Thus, the detachableleg is disposed to be inclined upward toward the front side of the seat.Consequently, the detachable leg is disposed to be easily pivotallyretracted to the seat cushion. In addition, at a lower side of the seatcushion, the leg retaining member retaining the lower end of thedetachable leg is disposed relatively rearward in the front to backdirection of the seat. Therefore, a space can be secured at the frontside of the leg retaining member and the detachable leg in the front toback direction of the seat and an occupant can freely bend and stretchhis/her legs. Moreover, the seat can be reduced in size in an up to downdirection.

In some embodiments, preferably, the leg guide portion is formed in aprotruding manner upward from an upper surface of the base cover and isintegrally formed with the base cover. According to the above-mentionedconfiguration, the base cover and the guide portion are formed as aone-piece member; therefore, the number of components is reduced.

In some embodiments, preferably, the leg guide portion is jutted from anouter surface of the base cover in the direction of the movement of theseat cushion. According to the above-mentioned configuration, the legguide portion of the base cover is more easily brought into contact withthe detachable leg in the direction of the movement of the seat cushion,thereby more easily guiding the detachable leg.

In some embodiments, it is preferable that the retraction floor isdisposed at a front side of the vehicle body floor in the front to backdirection of the seat and that the base cover has a leg movementrestriction portion which is disposed in a rear side of the legretaining member in the front to back direction of the seat and whichrestricts the detachable leg from moving rearward from the leg retainingmember in the front to back direction of the seat. According to theabove-mentioned configuration, the leg movement restriction portion ofthe base cover restricts a movement of the detachable leg. Therefore,for example, when the seat is returned from the retracted state to theseatable state, the detachable leg is guided to be more easily retainedby the leg retaining member.

In some embodiments, preferably, the leg movement restriction portion isintegrally formed with the base cover. According to the above-mentionedconfiguration, the base cover and the leg movement restriction portionare formed as a one-piece member; therefore, the number of componentscan be reduced.

In some embodiments, preferably, the leg movement restriction portionincludes a protruding portion that protrudes upward from an uppersurface of the base cover. According to the above-mentionedconfiguration, the leg movement restriction portion of the base covermore easily restricts the movement of the detachable leg in the up todown direction. Therefore, for example, when the seat is returned fromthe retracted state to the seatable state, the detachable leg is guidedto be more easily retained by the leg retaining member.

In some embodiments, preferably, the protruding portion of the legmovement restriction portion is jutted forward in the front to backdirection of the seat. According to the above-mentioned configuration,the leg movement restriction portion more easily restricts the movementof the detachable leg in the front to back direction of the seat;therefore, the detachable leg is guided to be more easily retained bythe leg retaining member.

In some embodiments, preferably, the leg movement restriction portion ispositioned to overlap the leg guide portion in a seat width direction.According to the above-mentioned configuration, the leg movementrestriction portion and the leg guide portion are compactly disposed.

In some embodiments, preferably, the vehicle seat includes: a seat bodyhaving the seat back and the seat cushion; and a seat pivot shaftattached on the support base and connected at a first end of the seatbody in the front to back direction of the seat so that the seat body ispivotable, wherein the upper end of the detachable leg is attached to asecond end of the seat body in the front to back direction of the seat,wherein a leg movement restriction portion is configured to restrict amovement path of the detachable leg when detached from the leg retainingmember based on a movement of the seat body and is disposed at the basecover, the leg movement restriction portion being disposed, relative tothe leg retaining member, in a direction opposite to a direction inwhich the detachable leg moves from a position in which the detachableleg is retained by the leg retaining member, and wherein the legmovement restriction portion includes a contact portion, contactablewith the detachable leg, and a protruding portion, disposed above thecontact portion, wherein the protruding portion protrudes toward thedetachable leg relative to an imaginary plane which is perpendicular toa direction in which the detachable leg is brought into contact with thecontact portion and passes through the contact portion. According to theabove-mentioned configuration, for example, when the seat body isreturned from the retracted state to the seatable state, the detachableleg moving along with the seat body is restricted by the leg movementrestriction portion, thereby being more easily retained by the legretaining member while not passing over the leg retaining member. Inaddition, the protruding portion disposed at the leg movementrestriction portion protrudes toward the detachable leg relative to theimaginary plane that is the plane being perpendicular to the directionin which the detachable leg is brought into contact with the contactportion and passing through the contact portion. Therefore, the legmovement restriction portion can restrict the movement of the detachableleg so that the detachable leg moves toward the leg retaining member.Consequently, the detachable leg is more easily retained by the legretaining member.

In some embodiments, it is preferable that the retraction floor isdisposed in the front side of the vehicle body floor in the front toback direction of the seat, that the seat pivot shaft is connected to arear end of the seat body in the front to back direction of the seat andthe upper end of the detachable leg is attached to a front end of theseat body in the front to back direction of the seat, that the legmovement restriction portion is disposed at the rear side of the legretaining member in the front to back direction of the seat, and thatthe protruding portion protrudes forward relative to the imaginary planein the front to back direction of the seat. According to theabove-mentioned configuration, when the seat body is returned from theretracted state to the seatable state, that is, when the detachable legis fitted again into the leg retaining member, the leg movementrestriction portion restricts the movement of the detachable leg so thatthe detachable leg moves toward the leg retaining member. Therefore, aseat state changing operation is successfully performed.

In some embodiments, preferably, a contact surface of the leg movementrestriction portion with which the detachable leg is brought intocontact is inclined toward the detachable leg relative to the imaginaryplane. In addition, preferably, the contact portion is disposed,relative to a plane which is defined by the leg retaining member and aprotruding tip end of the protruding portion, in a direction opposite toa direction in which the detachable leg moves from a position in whichthe detachable leg is retained by the leg retaining member. According tothe above-mentioned configuration, the leg movement restriction portionis shaped to more easily restrict the movement of the detachable leg sothat the detachable leg moves toward the leg retaining member;therefore, the detachable leg is more easily retained by the legretaining member.

In some embodiments, preferably, the leg movement restriction portionand a leg retraction recessed portion are formed on an upper surface ofthe base cover, the leg retraction recessed portion being disposedcloser to the leg retaining member than the leg movement restrictionportion in the front to back direction of the seat and configured to berecessed toward the leg retaining member, the leg retraction recessedportion configured to guide the detachable leg to be retained by the legretaining member. According to the above-mentioned configuration, theleg movement restriction portion and the leg retraction recessed portionthat are formed on the upper surface of the base cover guide thedetachable leg to move toward the leg retaining member; therefore, thedetachable leg is more easily retained by the leg retaining member.

According to an embodiment, the vehicle seat where the seat back and theseat cushion that form the seat body can be retracted in the retractionfloor and can be implemented by a simple structure without anycomponents disposed on the retraction floor. In particular, thedetachable leg and the leg retaining member are disposed so as not toprotrude forward from the support base and the base cover toward thefront side of the seat. Therefore, a large space can be secured at thefront side of the seat. Further, components of the retraction structureare all disposed on the vehicle body floor; therefore, a largeretraction space can be secured in the retraction floor. Furthermore,the leg retaining member is disposed not on the retraction floor but onthe vehicle body floor; therefore, an entire length of the detachableleg can be reduced. The shorter the entire length of the detachable legis, the shorter a pivotable range of the detachable leg in the front toback direction is. Thus, the detachable leg is more easily retained bythe leg retaining member. Consequently, the vehicle seat more easilychanges from the seatable state.

According to an embodiment, the leg guide portion of the base coverguides the detachable leg so that the detachable leg is retracted to theseat cushion; therefore, the seat is more easily changed from theseatable state to the retracted state. In addition, the detachable legis retracted to the seat cushion; therefore, the seat body is compactlyretracted in the retraction floor. According to an embodiment, thedetachable leg is disposed to be more easily pivotally retracted to theseat cushion. In addition, a space can be secured at the front side ofthe leg retaining member and the detachable leg in the front to backdirection of the seat and an occupant can freely bend and stretchhis/her legs. Moreover, the seat can be reduced in size in the up todown direction.

According to an embodiment, the leg guide portion and the leg movementrestriction portion are integrally formed with the base cover to be aone-piece member; therefore, the number of components can be reduced.Further, the leg movement restriction portion and the leg guide portionare compactly disposed. According to an embodiment, the detachable legis guided by the leg movement restriction portion, thereby being moreeasily guided by the leg retaining member.

According to an embodiment, when the seat body is returned from theretracted state to the seatable state, the detachable leg moves alongwith the seat body and is restricted by the leg movement restrictionportion, thereby being more easily retained by the leg retaining memberwhile not passing over the leg retaining member. In addition, by meansof the protruding portion disposed at the leg movement restrictionportion, the leg movement restriction portion can restrict the movementof the detachable leg so that the detachable leg moves toward the legretaining member; therefore, the detachable leg is more easily retainedby the leg retaining member. According to an embodiment, when the seatbody is returned from the retracted state to the seatable state, thatis, when detachable leg is fitted again into the leg retaining member,the seat state changing operation is successfully performed by the legmovement restriction portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a seat frame that serves as aframework of the vehicle seat;

FIG. 3 is a perspective and partially enlarged view of the seat frame;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a base cover configured to protect asupport base for the vehicle seat;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the base cover;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are side views of the vehicle seat, illustrating amovement of a detachable leg which is brought into contact with a legretaining member, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the detachable leg and leg retainingmember of FIG. 6B;

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are side views of the vehicle seat, illustrating amovement of the vehicle seat from a seatable state to a retracted state;

FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B, and FIG. 9C are side views of the vehicle seat,illustrating a movement of the vehicle seat to the retracted state;

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are side views of the vehicle seat, illustrating amovement of the vehicle seat from the retracted state to a tip-up state;

FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are side views of the vehicle seat, illustrating amovement of the vehicle seat from the tip-up state to the seatablestate;

FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are side views of the vehicle seat, illustrating amovement of the vehicle seat from the retracted state directly to theseatable state, according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are side views of the vehicle seat according tothe second embodiment, illustrating a movement of the vehicle seat fromthe retracted state directly to the seatable state; and

FIG. 14 is a side view of the vehicle seat according to the secondembodiment, illustrating the vehicle seat in the seatable state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments described herein relate to a vehicle seat which isconfigured to retract a seat body in a retraction floor, the vehicleseat including a support base which is attached to a vehicle body floorto support a seat back of the vehicle seat. The seat back is pivotableabout a seat pivot shaft, which is attached to the support base, to movea seat cushion of the vehicle seat to a retraction floor. A legretaining member, which detachably retains a lower end of the detachableleg supporting the seat cushion, is attached to the support base. Thevehicle seat is configured so that a shape of a base cover which coversthe support base is utilized to facilitate a state changing operation ofthe seat body. In addition, a side at which an occupant is seated withrespect to the seat back of the vehicle seat is a front side of theseat.

In some embodiments, a vehicle seat S is, for example, a rear seatcorresponding to a back seat of a vehicle. Further, the vehicle seat Scan be utilized as a middle seat which is at a second row of a vehicleequipped with a three-row seat in a front to back direction of thevehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat S generally includes: a seat body Bequipped with a seat back 1, a seat cushion 2, and a headrest 3; rightand left rail devices 4, each of the right and left devices 4 attachedon a vehicle body floor of a vehicle to support the seat body B so thatthe seat body B is movable in a front to back direction; a support base40 attached to the right and left rail devices 4; a detachable leg 30attached between the seat cushion 2 and the support base 40 to supportthe seat cushion 2 from below the seat cushion 2; and a leg retainingmember 50 attached to the support base 40 to support a lower end of thedetachable leg 30 so that the lower end is detachable. Further, as shownin FIG. 1, the vehicle seat S has a base cover 60 which covers thesupport base 40 from above the support base 40, cushion covers 70 thatpartially cover the seat cushion 2 from an outer side of the seatcushion 2 in a right to left direction, and a leg movement restrictionportion configured to restrict a movement path of the detachable leg 30when detached from the leg retaining member 50 based on a movement ofthe seat body B. Furthermore, as show in FIG. 2, the vehicle seat S hasa reclining device 13 which connects the seat back 1 so that the seatback 1 is pivotable relative to the support base 40 about a seat pivotshaft 12, a cushion pivoting device 25 which connects the seat cushion 2so that the seat cushion 2 is pivotable relative to the seat back 1, anda leg pivoting device 28 which connects the detachable leg 30 so thatthe detachable leg 30 is pivotable relative to the seat cushion 2. Asshown in FIG. 8, a recessed retraction floor formed in a position lowerthan the vehicle body floor is disposed at a front side of the vehicleseat S.

The vehicle seat S is a seat which can be disposed in three types ofstates: a “seatable” state where an occupant can be seated; a retractedstate where the seat body B is retracted in the retraction floor; and a“tip-up” state where the seat body B is tipped up. More specifically,when the vehicle seat S is in the seatable state shown in FIG. 8A, anoperating lever (not shown) is operable by an occupant (e.g., theoccupant may pull the operating lever). The seat body B is configuredto, in response to operation of the operating lever, tilt forward to befolded and the vehicle seat S changes to the retracted state shown inFIG. 9C, where the seat body B is retracted in the retraction floor.Further, from the retracted state, the seat body B is configured to betilted up manually by the occupant to change to the tip-up state shownin FIG. 10B. Furthermore, when the seat body B is in the tip-up state,the detachable leg 30 is operable as an operating lever that may bepulled by the occupant; the seat cushion 2 is configured to, in responseto operation of the detachable leg 30 as an operating lever, pivot in adownward direction relative to the seat back 1 and the seat body B isconfigured to return to the seatable state shown in FIG. 11B.

As shown in FIG. 1, the seat back 1 is a backrest which supports theback of an occupant from behind, and is configured so that a cushion pad1 a mounted on a back frame 10 shown in FIG. 2 and serves as a frame iscovered by a surface material 1 b. The seat cushion 2 is a seatingportion which supports an occupant from below, and is configured so thata cushion pad 2 a mounted on a cushion frame 20 shown in FIG. 2 andserves as a frame is covered from above by a surface material 2 b. Theheadrest 3 is a head portion which supports the head of an occupant frombehind, and is configured so that a cushion pad 3 a mounted on a pillar(not shown) serves as a core material is covered by a surface material 3b.

The right and left rail devices 4, disposed between the seat body B andthe vehicle body floor in an up to down direction as shown in FIG. 2,are fixed on the vehicle body floor and configured as right and leftlower rails 4 a, which extend in the front to back direction of theseat, and right and left upper rails 4 b, which are supported by thelower rails 4 a and configured to be slidable therealong. The supportbase 40 is disposed on upper surfaces of the right and left upper rails4 b and installed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 3, the support base 40is disposed on the upper surfaces of the right and left upper rails 4 band a rail lock device 5 is attached to the support base 40 andpositioned further rearward in the front to back direction of the seatthan an inertia lock device 54 (described below). The rail lock device 5is configured with a known rail lock device which is lockable where theupper rails 4 b are supported on the lower rails 4 a. The rail lockdevice 5 has a rail operating member 5 a configured to change the upperrails 4 b between a locked state and an unlocked state. The railoperating member 5 a is formed by a strip belt member and protrudes tothe front side of the seat from the support base 40 while extending froma portion of the support base 40 on which the rail lock device 5 isattached.

The back frame 10 is formed by a frame body having a substantiallyrectangular shape and serves as a frame of the seat back 1. As shown inFIG. 2, right and left connecting brackets 11 configured to connect tothe support base 40 are attached to outer lateral surfaces at lowerportions of the back frame 10 in the right to left direction. Theconnecting brackets 11 are formed by a metallic plate member extendingin the up to down direction and are formed in a generally bow-like shapeas seen from a lateral surface of the seat. Respective upper endportions of the connecting brackets 11 are connected to the back frame10 and respective lower end portions of the connecting brackets 11 areconnected to the support base 40.

The upper end portion of the connecting bracket 11 is configured to besandwiched between the back frame 10 and the cushion frame 20 in theright to left direction of the seat. The seat pivot shaft 12 ispivotally supported by the support base 40 in the right to leftdirection and disposed at the lower end portion of the left connectingbracket 11, and the reclining device 13 that connects the back frame 10so that the back frame 10 is pivotable relative to the support base 40is attached to the lower end portion of the right connecting bracket 11.

The reclining device 13 is formed by a known reclining device. As shownin FIG. 2, the reclining device 13 is disposed at an inner lateralsurface of the connecting bracket 11 in the right to left direction,thereby being inhibited from interfering with the cushion frame 20 inthe right to left direction. The reclining device 13 is generallyconfigured with a seat pivot shaft 13 a and a spiral spring 13 b whichallow the back frame 10 to pivot forward about the seat pivot shaft 13 aand be biased towards the retracted state. The seat pivot shaft 13 a ispivotally supported by the back frame 10 and the support base 40 in theright to left direction, and a first end portion of the spiral spring 13b is locked by the back frame 10 while a second end portion of thespiral spring 13 b is locked by the support base 40. The recliningdevice 13 can change to a locked state where a pivotal movement of theback frame 10 is locked and the back frame 10 is locked in a stand-upstate. The operating lever (not shown) is operated. Accordingly, thereclining device 13 releases the locked state and allows the back frame10 to pivot forward by a biasing force of the spiral spring 13 b;therefore, the back frame 10 can be folded toward the support base 40.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, right and left anchor members 15, eachof which is formed in a substantially L shape, are fixed to right andleft end portions, respectively, at the lower portions of the back frame10. The anchor members 15 are formed as metallic members and configuredto receive attachment portions (not shown) of a known child seat (notshown).

The cushion frame 20 is formed by a frame body having a substantiallyrectangular shape and that serves as the frame of the seat cushion 2. Asshown in FIG. 2, the cushion frame 20 generally includes: right and leftside frames 21 disposed at lateral sides of the cushion frame 20 in theright to left direction; a front connecting pipe 22 that connects frontportions of the respective side frames 21; a center connecting pipe 23that connects substantially center portions of the respective sideframes 21 in the front to back direction; and a pan frame 24 that servesas a generally plate-shaped frame that connects the front connectingpipe 22 and the center connecting pipe 23. The side frames 21 are formedby a metallic plate member that extends in the front to back direction.A front portion of the side frame 21 is connected to the frontconnecting pipe 22, and the cushion pivoting device 25 that connects thecushion frame 20 so that the cushion frame 20 is pivotable relative tothe back frame 10 is attached to an upper end portion at a rear sectionof the side frame 21. In addition, a flange portion 21 a, bent outwardin the right to left direction, is disposed in an outer rim portion ofthe side frame 21 as seen from the lateral surface of the seat, therebyincreasing the support strength for the front connecting pipe 22 and theback frame 10.

The cushion pivoting device 25 is formed by a known cushion pivotingdevice, and as shown in FIG. 2, includes a cushion pivot shaft 25 a anda spiral spring 25 b configured to bias the cushion frame 20 in adownward direction about the cushion pivot shaft 25 a. The cushion pivotshaft 25 a is pivotally supported by the back frame 10 and the cushionframe 20 in the right to left direction. A first end portion of thespiral spring 25 b is secured to the back frame 10 while a second endportion of the spiral spring 25 b is secured to the cushion frame 20.The cushion pivoting device 25 can change to a locked state where apivotal movement of the cushion frame 20 is locked. The cushion pivotingdevice 25 locks the pivotal movement of the cushion frame 20 when theseat body B is retracted in the retraction floor as shown in FIG. 9C,more specifically, in a state where the back frame 10 is folded onto thecushion frame 20. In addition, when the detachable leg 30 functioning asthe operating lever is pulled as shown in FIG. 11A, the cushion pivotingdevice 25 releases the locked state and allows the cushion frame 20 topivot in a downward direction relative to the back frame 10 by a biasingforce of the spiral spring 27.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front connecting pipe 22 is formed by a pipemember having a substantially U-like shape and the leg pivoting device28, which connects the detachable leg 30 so that the detachable leg 30is pivotable relative to the cushion frame 20, is attached to an innerlateral surface of the front connecting pipe 22 in the right to leftdirection. The leg pivoting device 28 has a leg pivot shaft 28 a and aspring member 28 b configured to bias the detachable leg 30 about theleg pivot shaft 28 a in a direction opposite to the cushion frame 20,i.e., in a direction away from the cushion frame 20. The leg pivot shaft28 a is pivotally supported by the front connecting pipe 22 and an upperend portion of the detachable leg 30 in the right to left direction. Afirst end portion of the spring member 28 b is secured to the cushionframe 20 while a second end portion of the spring member 28 b is securedto the detachable leg 30. The leg pivoting device 28 can change to alocked state where a pivotal movement of the detachable leg 30 islocked. The leg pivoting device 28 locks the pivotal movement of thedetachable leg 30 when the detachable leg 30 is detached from the legretaining member 50 to be retracted toward the cushion frame 20, asshown in FIG. 9A. Then, the detachable leg 30 in the locked state ispulled as shown in FIG. 11A, therefore being released from the lockedstate. Therefore, the detachable leg 30 can be moved by a biasing forceof the spring member 28 b to a position in which the detachable leg 30can be fitted into the leg retaining member 50 so that the seat body Bis returned to the seatable state.

As shown in FIG. 2, the detachable leg 30 is a pipe member having asubstantially U-like shape for supporting the seat cushion 2, andincludes leg body portions 31 which are disposed at the lateral sides inthe right to left direction and a leg connecting portion 32 whichconnects lower end portions of the respective leg body portions 31.Upper end portions of the leg body portions 31 are connected tosubstantially intermediate portions of the cushion frame 20 in the frontto back direction, which are on lateral surfaces of the cushion frame 20in the right to left direction. A substantially intermediate portion ofthe leg connecting portion 32 in the right to left direction isdetachably retained by the leg retaining member 50. The detachable leg30 is configured so that the upper end portions of the leg body portions31 are jutted further forward than the lower end portions of the legbody portions 31 in the front to back direction of the seat, thereforebeing inclined forward and extending upward from the lower end portionsof the leg body portion 31 to the upper end portions of the leg bodyportion 31.

The support base 40 is a member which supports the seat body B. As shownin FIG. 3, the support base 40 includes right and left side baseportions 41 which are disposed at lateral sides of the support base 40in the right to left direction along the upper rails 4 b, a first baseconnecting portion 42 which connects front portions of the respectiveside base portions 41, a second base connecting portion 43 whichconnects substantially intermediate portions of the respective side baseportions 41, right and left reinforcement base portions 44 which areattached to upper surfaces of the respective side base portions 41, anda retaining member support portion 45 which connects the first baseconnecting portion 42 and the second base connecting portion 43 andsupports the leg retaining member 50. In addition, a base jutted portion46 jutted from the first base connecting portion 42 to the front side ofthe seat and having a substantially U-like shape is attached to bothright and left end portions of the first base connecting portion 42.

The side base portion 41 is formed by a metallic plate member formed ina substantially eccentric-shape, elongated in the front to backdirection. As shown in FIG. 3, the side base portion 41 is generallyconfigured with a connecting wall portion 41 a connected to the uppersurface of the upper rail 4 b, an inner wall portion 41 b bent downwardfrom an inner end portion of the connecting wall portion 41 a in theright to left direction, and an outer wall portion 41 c bent upward froman outer end portion of the connecting wall portion 41 a in the right toleft direction. In the side base portion 41, flange portions 41 d, 41 erespectively folded inward in the right to left direction are disposedin a lower end portion of the inner wall portion 41 b and at an upperend portion of the outer wall portion 41 c. In addition, a notch 41 fhaving a substantially semicircular shape is formed in a portion of theleft side base portion 41, which faces the seat pivot shaft 12 as seenfrom the lateral surface of the seat, thereby allowing the seat pivotshaft 12 to be more easily installed from the lateral surface of theseat.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first base connecting portion 42 and the secondbase connecting portion 43 are formed by pipe members that extend in theright to left direction and have a substantially circular shape and arespaced at a predetermined distance therebetween in the front to backdirection. As shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcement base portion 44 isformed by a metallic plate member formed in a substantiallyeccentric-shape, elongated in the front to back direction. Thereinforcement base portion 44 is configured with a connecting wallportion 44 a connected to the upper surface of the side base portion 41,an inner wall portion 44 b bent downward from an inner end portion ofthe connecting wall portion 44 a in the right to left direction, and anouter wall portion 44 c bent upward from an outer end portion of theconnecting wall portion 44 a in the right to left direction. In thereinforcement base portion 44, a flange portion 44 d folded inward inthe right to left direction is disposed in a lower end portion of theinner wall portion 44 b and a flange portion 44 e folded outward in theright to left direction is disposed in an upper end portion of the outerwall portion 44 c.

As shown in FIG. 3, both right and left end portions of the first baseconnecting portion 42 are respectively connected to be sandwichedbetween the side base portion 41 and the reinforcement base portion 44,and both right and left end portions of the second base connectingportion 43 are respectively connected to be sandwiched between the sidebase portion 41 and the reinforcement base portion 44. The reinforcementbase portion 44 is attached by the connecting wall portion 44 a to theside base portion 41. In addition, the flange portion 44 e of thereinforcement base portion 44 is overlapped with the flange portion 41 eof the side base portion 41 in the up to down direction to form a closedcross-section structure; thereby, the support strength of the supportbase 40 is increased. In other words, the support base 40 is formed tohave a hollow structure. The left reinforcement base portion 44 isconnected to be sandwiched between the connecting bracket 11 and theside base portion 41 in the right to left direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the retaining member support portion 45 is ametallic plate member having a curved shape configured to support theleg retaining member 50. The retaining member support portion 45 extendsin the front to back direction of the seat and has a folded and bentportion 45 a which is disposed in a substantially intermediate portionin the front to back direction to be bent further downward than frontand rear portions. The front portion of the retaining member supportportion 45 is attached to the first base connecting portion 42 while therear portion of the retaining member support portion 45 is attached tothe second base connecting portion 43. The leg retaining member 50 isattached to an upper surface of the folded and bent portion 45 a.

As shown in FIG. 3, a metallic member having a substantially circularshape in cross-section is folded and bent to thereby form the basejutted portion 46. A retaining portion 46 a for retaining a juttedportion of the rail operating member 5 a is disposed in a portion of thebase jutted portion 46, which is jutted toward the front side of theseat and positioned to face the rail operating member 5 a of the raillock device 5. In addition, an attached portion to which the base juttedportion 46 is attached is located between a closed cross-section frame,which is formed by the side base portion 41 and the reinforcement baseportion 44, and the retaining member support portion 45 in a seat widthdirection, therefore increasing the support strength.

The leg retaining member 50 is formed by a clip member formed in asubstantially U-like shape for retaining the detachable leg 30 so thatthe detachable leg 30 is detachable. As shown in FIG. 3, the legretaining member 50 is configured with a pair of side wall portions 51and a bottom wall portion 52 which connects lower end portions of therespective side wall portions 51. The side wall portions 51 arerespectively bent to come close to each other in a direction from thelower end portion to the upper end portion. In other words, the sidewall portion 51 is bent toward the inner side of an opening of the legretaining member 50 to reduce a size of the opening therebetween. Acurled portion 53 curved toward the outer side of the opening isdisposed in the upper end portion of the side wall portion 51. Thebottom wall portion 52 is formed of a curved shape and is attached tothe folded and bent portion 45 a of the retaining member support portion45 along the folded and bent portion 45 a. Generally, the bottom wallportion 52 is partially cut and raised therefrom to include acut-and-raised portion (not shown). The cut-and-raised portion isretained and locked by a retaining groove (not shown) disposed in thefolded and bent portion 45 a; thereby, the bottom wall portion 52 isfixed.

The leg retaining member 50 is positioned to be inclined rearward at apredetermined inclination angle relative to a horizontal surface and issupported by the retaining member support portion 45. In other words,the leg retaining member 50 is supported by the retaining member supportportion 45 to be positioned in such a manner that the opening facesdiagonally forward and upward. The inertia lock device 54, which locksthe detachable leg 30 in a state where the leg connecting portion 32 atthe lower end of the detachable leg 30 is retained by the leg retainingmember 50 at the time of a front collision of a vehicle, is disposed atan adjacent portion to the leg retaining member 50.

The inertia lock device 54 is formed by a known inertia lock device. Asshown in FIG. 3, the inertia lock device 54 is attached to the supportbase 40 and is disposed between the first base connecting portion 42 andthe second base connecting portion 43 in the front to back direction.Further, the inertia lock device 54 is disposed in a position to overlapthe leg retaining member 50 in the right to left direction.

The base cover 60 is a resin molded product which covers the whole ofthe support base 40 from above the support base 40. As shown in FIG. 4and FIG. 5, the base cover 60 is configured with a front cover portion61 which is disposed at a front side and a rear cover portion 68 whichis disposed at a rear side of the front cover portion 61. As shown inFIG. 4, the front cover portion 61 generally includes a leg retractionrecessed portion 62 which retracts the detachable leg 30, a leg guideportion 63 which is disposed at a front side of the leg retractionrecessed portion 62 and which guides the detachable leg 30 when detachedfrom the leg retaining member 50 to be retracted toward the seat cushion2, a leg movement restriction portion 64 which is disposed at a rearside of the leg retraction recessed portion 62 and which restricts thedetached detachable leg 30 from moving to the rear side of the legretraction recessed portion 62, and a base contact portion 65 which isdisposed at the front side of the leg retraction recessed portion 62 andwhich is contactable with a portion of the seat cushion 2. The legretraction recessed portion 62, the leg guide portion 63, the legmovement restriction portion 64, and the base contact portion 65 arerespectively formed integrally with the front cover portion 61.

The leg retraction recessed portion 62 is formed by a substantiallyU-shaped recessed portion which is recessed downward from asubstantially intermediate portion of an upper surface of the base cover60, and it is formed as an elongated body extending in the right to leftdirection. The leg retraction recessed portion 62 is configured withfront and rear wall portions 62 a, a pair of side wall portions 62 b(e.g., right and left side wall portions), and a bottom wall portion 62c which connects respective lower end portions of the front and rearwall portions 62 a and respective lower end portions of the pair of sidewall portions 62 b and which is positioned so that its opening facesdiagonally forward and upward. In the leg retraction recessed portion62, substantially quadrangular through holes are respectively formed inthe center in the right to left direction of the front and rear wallportions 62 a. As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of side wall portions 51 andthe curled portion 53 that forms the leg retaining member 50 protrudethrough the through holes from a back surface of the base cover 60 to beexposed to the outside. Further, a through hole elongated in the up todown direction is formed continuously in the front and rear wall portion62 a at the rear side and the bottom wall portion 62 c, and a portion ofthe inertia lock device 54 protrudes through the through hole from theback surface of the base cover 60 to be exposed to the outside.

The leg guide portion 63 is formed by a protruding portion thatprotrudes upward from the upper surface of the base cover 60 and is anelongated body extending in the front to back direction and is compactlyformed into a shape relatively smaller in width in the right to leftdirection than in the front to back direction. In addition, the legguide portion 63 is formed to be slightly jutted forward from a frontsurface of the base cover 60. The leg guide portion 63 is disposed inthe substantially center of the base cover 60 in the right to leftdirection and at a front portion of the base cover 60 to extendsubstantially continuously from the leg retraction recessed portion 62in the front to back direction. In a state where the seat body B is inthe seatable state, the leg guide portion 63 configured as describedabove is disposed at a front side of the detachable leg 30 as shown inFIG. 1 and is disposed at a rear side of the retraction floor as shownin FIG. 8A. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9A, the leg guide portion 63 isbrought into contact with the detachable leg 30 when detached from theleg retaining member 50 and the leg retraction recessed portion 62 andthereby can guide the detachable leg 30 to pivot about the leg pivotshaft 26 a toward the seat cushion 2 and be retracted thereto.

As shown in FIG. 4, the leg movement restriction portion 64 is formed bya portion of the base cover 60, which is jutted from the substantiallyintermediate portion of the upper surface to the front side of the seat.The leg movement restriction portion 64 is continuously formed with arear portion of the leg retraction recessed portion 62 in the front toback direction of the seat and is implemented as an elongated bodyextending in the right to left direction of the seat. The leg movementrestriction portion 64 is configured so that its width in the front toback direction increases from the lower end to the upper end. Aprotruding portion 64 a that protrudes upward from the upper surface ofthe base cover 60 is disposed in the upper end of the leg movementrestriction portion 64. The protruding portion 64 is further juttedtoward the front side of the seat.

The base contact portion 65 is formed by a protruding portion thatslightly protrudes upward from the front portion of the upper surface ofthe base cover 60, and is an elongated body that extends in the front toback direction of the seat and is formed into a shape relatively smallerin width in the right to left direction of the seat than in the front toback direction. In addition, the base contact portion 65 is formed tohave a relatively low friction coefficient. The base contact portion 65is positioned to be contactable with a cushion contact portion 71, whichis disposed at a cushion cover 70 as described below, when the seat bodyB moves between the retracted state and the seatable state. The basecontact portion 65 has a curved surface formed of a substantiallyprotrusion jutted toward the cushion cover 70.

In the base cover 60, as shown in FIG. 5, reinforcement ribs 66 eachhaving a predetermined shape are formed on a back surface (e.g., facingthe support base 40) of each of the leg retraction recessed portion 62,the leg movement restriction portion 64, and the base contact portion65. Thus, the base cover 60 is formed so that a portion thereof thatbenefits from increased support strength has extra support strength dueto making contact with other components.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cushion cover 70 is formed as a resin moldedproduct formed in a substantially U-like shape which covers each of theright and left side frames 21 of the seat cushion 2 shown in FIG. 2 fromthe outer side in the right to left direction. The cushion cover 70 isdisposed at a rear side of the detachable leg 30 in the front to backdirection of the seat. As shown in FIG. 6, the cushion contact portion71 jutted toward the base cover 60 is integrally formed with a bottomsurface of the cushion cover 70. The cushion contact portion 71 having acurved surface formed of a substantially protrusion is positioned tooverlap the base contact portion 65 in the right to left direction ofthe seat. When the cushion contact portion 71 is brought into contactwith the base contact portion 65 as shown in FIG. 6A in a state wherethe seat body B moves between the retracted state and the seatablestate, the seat cushion 2 is moved onto the base cover 60; therefore,the detachable leg 30 can more stably move.

Leg Retaining Member

The leg retaining member 50 serves to restrict the movement path of thedetachable leg 30 moving along with the seat body B when the seat body Breturns from the retracted state to the seatable state. In anembodiment, when the seat body B moves from the retracted state shown inFIG. 6A to the seatable state shown in FIG. 6B, the detachable leg 30 isbrought into contact with the leg movement restriction portion 64,thereby being restricted from moving rearward and being guided towardthe leg retaining member 50.

For example, during movement of the seat body B from the seatable stateto the retracted state, the seat body B may be sometimes moved to returnto the seatable state. In such returning operation, when an occupanttries to relatively roughly return the seat body B to the seatablestate, the detachable leg 30 is moved beyond the leg retaining member50. As a result, the detachable leg 30 may not be fitted again into theleg retaining member 50 in a conventional vehicle seat. However, in thisembodiment, during movement of the seat body B from the retracted stateshown in FIG. 6A to the seatable state shown in FIG. 6B, the detachableleg 30 is configured to be brought into contact with the leg movementrestriction portion 64. Therefore, the detachable leg 30 can be morestably fitted again into the leg retaining member 50 while not movingbeyond the leg retaining member 50.

The leg movement restriction portion 64 serving as the leg movementrestriction part is explained in detail on the basis of FIG. 7. Theprotruding portion 64 a of the leg movement restriction portion 64 isformed above a contact portion 64 b of the leg movement restrictionportion 64 with which the detachable leg 30 is contactable. Theprotruding portion 64 a protrudes toward the front side of the seatrelative to an imaginary plane F1 which is a plane perpendicular to adirection in which the detachable leg 30 is brought into contact withthe contact portion 64 b and passing through the contact portion 64 b.In other words, a contact plane F2 of the leg movement restrictionportion 64 with which the detachable leg 30 is brought into contact isinclined toward the front side of the seat relative to the imaginaryplane F1. Also, in other words, the contact portion 64 b is disposed ata rear side of a plane F3, which is defined by the leg retaining member50 and a protruding tip end of the protruding portion 64 a, in the frontto back direction of the seat. With the above-mentioned configuration,at the time of retracting the detachable leg 30 in moving into the legretraction recessed portion 62, the leg movement restriction portion 64can restrict the rearward movement of the detachable leg 30 and guidethe detachable leg 30 toward the leg retaining member 50.

Seat Retracting Operation

Next, an operation for moving the seat body B from the seatable state tothe retracted state is described on the basis of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. Notethat the reclining device 13, the cushion pivoting device 25, and theleg pivoting device 28 are in the locked state when illustrated by ablack circle in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 and that the reclining device 13, thecushion pivoting device 25, and the leg pivoting device 28 are in theunlocked state when illustrated by a white circle. Similar indicators ofthe locked or unlocked state apply to FIGS. 10 to 13.

When the vehicle seat S is in the seatable state shown in FIG. 8A, theseat back 1 is supported by the support base 40 and is locked in thestand-up state by the reclining device 13. The seat cushion 2 connectedto the seat back 1 is supported from below by the detachable leg 30retained by the leg retaining member 50. The leg pivot shaft 26 alocated at the upper end portion of the detachable leg 30 is disposed ata front side of the leg retaining member 50 when the seat body B is inthe seatable state. Further, the leg retaining member 50 is disposed ata rear side of a front end portion of a portion of the base cover 60,which covers the support base 40 from above the support base 40.

In the event of moving the vehicle seat S from the seatable state to theretracted state, for example, the operating lever (not shown) disposedon an upper surface of the seat back 1 is operated. The operating leveris operated by an occupant; thereby, as shown in FIG. 8B, the lockedstate of the reclining device 13 is released and the seat back 1 startspivoting about the seat pivot shaft 12 toward the front side of the seatby the biasing force of the spiral spring 14 to move the seat cushion 2towards the retraction floor. In conjunction with the pivotal movementof the seat back 1, the detachable leg 30 starts pivoting relative tothe seat cushion 2 about the leg pivot shaft 28 a toward the seatcushion 2. At this time, the detachable leg 30 is sandwiched between theseat cushion 2 and the vehicle body floor; therefore, the seat cushion 2and the seat back 1 can be stably moved. In addition, a cable (not show)is connected between the operating lever and the reclining device 13,and the cable is pulled by the operation of the operating lever tothereby release the locked state.

When the seat back 1 has reached a predetermined pivoted position asshown in FIG. 9A, the detachable leg 30 detaches from the leg retainingmember 50. In other words, when the detachable leg 30 has reached apredetermined pivoted position in conjunction with the pivotal movementof the seat back 1, the detachable leg 30 detaches from the legretaining member 50. The detachable leg 30, when detached, moves up ontothe upper surface of the base cover 60, thereby pivoting about the legpivot shaft 28 a against the biasing force of the spring member 28 b tobe folded toward the seat cushion 2. Then, when the detachable leg 30has reached a predetermined pivoted position, the detachable leg 30 islocked while being retracted toward the seat cushion 2 by the legpivoting device 28. At this time, the detachable leg 30 is guided by theleg guide portion 63 (not shown) of the base cover 60 to be retractedtoward the seat cushion 2.

Further, when the seat back 1 has reached a predetermined pivotedposition as shown in FIG. 9B, the cushion contact portion 71 is broughtinto contact with the base contact portion 65. Then, a front portion ofthe seat cushion 2 is brought into contact with a surface of theretraction floor before the detachable leg 30 makes contact with thesurface of the retraction floor. Furthermore, a slide member (not shown)that is slidable on the surface of the retraction floor is attached tothe front portion of the seat cushion 2; thereby, the seat cushion 2 canstably slide on the surface of the retraction floor toward the frontside of the seat.

According to a series of the above-mentioned operations, as shown inFIG. 9C, the seat body B is retracted in the retraction floor and thevehicle seat S changes to the retracted state. The seat cushion 2 islocked by the cushion pivoting device 25 when the seat body B is in theretracted state, more specifically, when the seat back 1 is folded ontothe seat cushion 2. Further, the cushion pad 2 a of the seat back 1 isconfigured so that a portion overlapped with the leg retaining member 50in the up to down direction when the seat body B is in the retractedstate may have a relatively small thickness. Furthermore, the pair ofanchor members 15 of the back frame 10 is positioned so as not tooverlap the leg movement restriction portion 64 disposed at the basecover 60 in the up to down direction when the seat body B is in theretracted state. In addition, the detachable leg 30 is moved to aposition lower than the leg retaining member 50 when the seat body B isin the retracted state.

Seat Tip-Up Operation

Next, an operation for moving the seat body B from the retracted stateto the tip-up state is described on the basis of FIG. 10. When thevehicle seat S is in the retracted state shown in FIG. 10A, for example,the seat body B is moved upward manually by an occupant; therefore, thevehicle seat S changes to the tip-up state shown in FIG. 10B. At thistime, the pivotal movement of the seat cushion 2 is locked by thecushion pivoting device 25. Accordingly, the seat back 1 is moved upwardand thereby the seat cushion 2 can be integrally moved upward. Inaddition, when the seat body B is in the tip-up state, the upper rail 4b is slid rearward relative to the lower rail 4 a in the front to backdirection of the seat; thereby, a further larger space at the front sideof the seat can be secured for a luggage compartment.

When the vehicle seat S changes to the tip-up state shown in FIG. 10B,the seat back 1 returns to the same position as in the seatable state tobe locked in the stand-up state by the reclining device 13.

Seat Returning Operation

Next, an operation for moving the seat body B from the tip-up state tothe seatable state is described on the basis of FIG. 11. In the event ofmoving the vehicle seat S from the tip-up state to the seatable state,the detachable leg 30 functioning, for example, as the operating leveris operated as shown in FIG. 11A. The detachable leg 30 is pulled by anoccupant to pivot upward about the leg pivot shaft 28 a, i.e., thedetachable leg 30 is pulled in a direction away from the seat cushion 2;thereby, the locked states of the cushion pivoting device 25 and the legpivoting device 28 are released (e.g., to an unlocked state). Inaddition, a cable (not shown) is connected between the detachable leg 30and the cushion pivoting device 25. The cable is pulled by the operationof the detachable leg 30; therefore, the locked state is released.

Along with the release of the cushion pivoting device 25 from the lockedstate, the seat cushion 2 pivots in a downward direction relative to theseat back 1 by the biasing force of the spiral spring 27 as shown inFIG. 11B. Along with the release of the leg pivoting device 28 from thelocked state, the detachable leg 30 pivots about the leg pivot shaft 28a by the biasing force of the spring member 28 b to a position in whichthe detachable leg 30 can be fitted into the leg retaining member 50,thereafter the detachable leg 30 is fitted into the leg retaining member50. At this time, the detachable leg 30 is guided by the leg retractionrecessed portion 62 and the leg movement restriction portion 64 of thebase cover 60, thereby moving toward the leg retaining member 50attached to a lower end of the leg retraction recessed portion 62.According to a series of the above-mentioned operations, the vehicleseat S returns to the seatable state shown in FIG. 11B.

In the above-mentioned configuration, as shown in FIG. 8A, the legretaining member 50 is disposed at a rear side of a stepped portion ofthe vehicle body floor, which is connected to the retraction floor, inthe front to back direction of the seat. This configuration allows thedetachable leg 30 when retained by the leg retaining member 50 to becompactly disposed. Further, the detachable leg 30 is configured tosupport a substantially intermediate portion of the seat cushion 2 inthe front to back direction; therefore, the support strength for theseat cushion 2 can be increased. In addition, the vehicle body floorincludes the stepped portion but it does not include the retractionfloor.

Second Embodiment of Vehicle Seat

Next, a second example of the vehicle seat is described on the basis ofFIG. 12 and FIG. 13. Explanations of contents overlapping with thecontents of the above-described vehicle seat S are omitted from thedescription below. A vehicle seat S2 according to the second example isdifferent from the first embodiment in that a lockoff device 80configured to release the cushion pivoting device 25 in the locked statetherefrom to the unlocked state is included. Further, compared to theabove-described vehicle seat S, the vehicle seat S2 is configured as a“one-motion” type vehicle seat which can change the seat body B directlyfrom the retracted state to the seatable state.

The lockoff device 80 is configured with a lock on/off device, isattached to a seat rear end of the seat cushion 2, and is positioned tooverlap the cushion contact portion 71 in the front to back direction ofthe seat. Specifically, the lockoff device 80 and the cushion contactportion 71 are disposed respectively at the right side frame 21 and theleft side frame 21 of the seat cushion 2. The lockoff device 80partially protrudes from the seat rear end of the seat cushion 2 towarda rear side of the seat and includes a lockoff lever 81 which changesthe cushion pivoting device 25 between the locked and unlocked states.

The lockoff lever 81 is attached to and positioned at a lever contactportion 67 to be contactable with the lever contact portion 67 locatedat a seat front surface portion of the base cover 60. When the seat bodyB is moved from the seatable state to the retracted state shown in FIG.12A, the lockoff lever 81 moving along with the seat cushion 2 makescontact with the lever contact portion 67 of the base cover 60 and isfurther pressed toward the front side of the seat to pivot about alockoff lever pivot shaft (not shown); thereby, the lockoff device 80can change the cushion pivoting device 25 from the locked state to theunlocked state.

Next, an operation for returning the seat body B directly from theretracted state to the seatable state is described on the basis of FIGS.12 to 14. Firstly, when the vehicle seat S2 is in the retracted stateshown in FIG. 12A, the lockoff lever 81 is in contact with the levercontact portion 67 of the base cover 60. An occupant manually moves theseat body B upward; thereby, the lockoff lever 81 is pressed toward thefront side of the seat to pivot and therefore the lockoff device 80releases the locked state of the cushion pivoting device 25. Along withthe release of the cushion pivoting device 25 from the locked state, theseat cushion 2 slightly pivots in a downward direction relative to theseat back 1 by the biasing force of the spiral spring 27.

When the vehicle seat S2 has reached a predetermined position shown inFIG. 12B, the cushion contact portion 71 makes contact with the basecontact portion 65. The cushion contact portion 71 is brought intocontact with the base contact portion 65 in advance; thereby, thedetachable leg 30 is guided to pass over the base cover 60 as shown inFIG. 13A.

The detachable leg 30 in moving makes contact with the leg movementrestriction portion 64 as shown in FIG. 13B; therefore, the movement ofthe detachable leg 30 is restricted by the leg movement restrictionportion 64 so that the detachable leg 30 moves toward the leg retainingmember 50. At this time, the detachable leg 30 is brought into contactwith the leg movement restriction portion 64 and is guided to be pulledin a downward direction; thereby, the locked state of the leg pivotingdevice 28 is automatically released. Then, the detachable leg 30 isfitted again into the leg retaining member 50. According to a series ofthe above-mentioned operations, the vehicle seat S2 returns to theseatable state shown in FIG. 14.

With the above-mentioned configuration, at the time of moving the seatbody B directly from the retracted state to the seatable state, the legmovement restriction part brings the detachable leg 30 moving along withthe seat body B into contact with the leg movement restriction portion64, thereby restricting the rearward movement of the detachable leg 30and guiding the detachable leg 30 toward the leg retaining member 50.

Other Embodiments

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the retraction floor is disposed inthe seat front side of the vehicle seat S as shown in FIG. 8A, but otherembodiments are not limited thereto. The retraction floor may bedisposed in the rear side of the vehicle seat S. In this case, it ispreferable that a positional relation between the seat pivot shaft 12and the detachable leg 30 in the front to back direction of the seat arereversed relative to each other and that a positional relationshipbetween the detachable leg 30 and the leg movement restriction portion64 in the front to back direction is reversed relative to each other.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the seatbody B is in the retracted state, the cushion pivoting device 25 canchange to the locked state where the pivotal movement of the seatcushion 2 is locked, but other embodiments are not limited thereto. Thecushion pivoting device 25 may be configured to change to the lockedstate when the seat body B is in the tip-up state shown in FIG. 10B.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the seatbody B changes from the seatable state to the retracted state, thedetachable leg 30 pivots rearward relative to the seat cushion 2 aboutthe leg pivot shaft 28 a in the front to back direction of the seat andthereafter is retracted toward the seat cushion 2. However, suchconfiguration of the detachable leg 30 can be changed as appropriate.For example, the detachable leg 30 may be configured to pivot about theleg pivot shaft 28 a toward the front side of the seat and thereafter beretracted toward the seat cushion 2. At this time, preferably, the upperend portion of the detachable leg 30 is disposed further rearward in thefront to back direction of the seat than the lower end portion of thedetachable leg 30 and is inclined rearward extending upward from thelower end portion to the upper end portion. Therefore, the detachableleg 30 more easily pivots toward the seat cushion 2 to be retractedthereto.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the support base 40 is fixed via therail devices 4 on the vehicle body floor but other embodiments are notlimited thereto. The arrangement of the support base 40 may be changedas appropriate, for example, the support base 40 may be directly fixedon the vehicle body floor without the need for the rail devices 4.Further, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the seat back 1 may bedirectly connected to the support base 40 via the seat pivot shaft 12without the need for the connecting bracket 11.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, preferably, one of the base contactportion 65 or the cushion contact portion 71 may be formed to have afriction coefficient lower than a friction coefficient of the other.With such configuration, the base cover 60 and the cushion cover 70 canbe inhibited from being scratched or damaged from each other when thebase cover 60 and the cushion cover 70 are brought into contact witheach other. Additionally, it is preferable that the leg movementrestriction portion 64 of the base cover 60 is configured to have arelatively small friction coefficient. With this configuration, thedetachable leg 30 and the leg movement restriction portion 64 can beinhibited from being scratched or damaged from each other when thedetachable leg 30 and the leg movement restriction portion 64 arebrought into contact with each other.

In the foregoing embodiments, a retractable vehicle seat applied to anautomobile is explained as an example, but other examples are notlimited thereto. At least some of the embodiments of the vehicle seat ofthe present disclosure can be utilized as a vehicle seat for a train, abus, or the like, or as a passenger seat for an airplane, a boat, or thelike.

The vehicle seats S and S2 are generally described according to variousembodiments. The described embodiments are merely examples to facilitateunderstanding of the present disclosure and do not restrict theinvention. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be changed ormodified without departing from the invention and may include itsequivalents. In particular, for the shapes, arrangements, andconfigurations of the detachable leg 30, the support base 40, the legretaining member 50, the base cover 60, and the cushion cover 70 and forthe configuration of the leg movement restriction portion 64, thedescriptions thereof in the foregoing embodiments are merely examplesand do not restrict the invention.

Table of Reference Numerals S, S2: Vehicle seat B: Seat body 1: Seatback   1a, 2a, 3a: Cushion pad   1b, 2b, 3b: Surface material 2: Seatcushion 3: Headrest 4: Rail device   4a: Lower rail   4b: Upper rail 5:Rail lock device   5a: Rail operating member 10: Back frame 11:Cconnecting bracket 12: Seat pivot shaft 13: Reclining device 14: Spiralspring 15: Anchor member 20: Cushion frame 21: Side frame   21a: Flangeportion 22: Front connecting pipe 23: Center connecting pipe 24: Ppanframe 25: Cushion pivoting device 26: Cushion pivot shaft 27: Spiralspring 28: Leg pivoting device   28a: Leg pivot shaft   28b: Springmember 30: Detachable leg 31: Leg body portion 32: Leg connectingportion 40: Support base 41: Side base portion   41a: Connecting wallportion   41b: Inner wall portion   41c: Outer wall portion   41d, 41e:Flange portion   41f: Notch 42: First base connecting portion 43: Secondbase connecting portion 44: Reinforcement base portion   44a: Connectingwall portion   44b: Inner wall portion   44c: Outer wall portion   44d,44e: Flange portion   44f: Base attachment portion   44g: Protrudingportion 45: Retaining member support portion   45a: Folded and bentportion 46: Base jutted portion   46a: Retaining portion 50: Legretaining member 51: Sside wall portion 52: Bottom wall portion 53:Curled portion 54: Inertia lock device 60: Base cover 61: Front coverportion 61a: Inclined portion 62: Leg retraction recessed portion   62a,62b: Side wall portion   62c: Bottom wall portion 63: Leg guide portion64: Leg movement restriction portion   64a: Protruding portion   64b:Contact portion 65: Base contact portion 66: Reinforcement rib 67: Levercontact portion 68: Rear cover portion 69: coupling portion 70: Cushioncover 71: Cushion contact portion 80: Lockoff device 81: Lockoff leverF1: Imaginary plane F2: Contact plane F3: Plane

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle seat, comprising: a seat back and aseat cushion connected to the seat, the seat back and the seat cushionbeing retractable to a retraction floor of a vehicle body floor; asupport base connected to the vehicle body floor, disposed below theseat cushion, and pivotally connected to a lower end of the seat back sothat the lower end of the seat back is pivotable; and a base cover thatcovers the support base from above the support base, wherein: thevehicle seat is configured to be switched between a seatable state and aretracted state: the base cover comprises a contact portion thatcontacts the seat cushion when the vehicle seat moves from the seatablestate to the retracted state; and the contact portion of the base coveris separated from the seat cushion when the vehicle seat is in theretracted state.
 2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein: thevehicle seat further comprises a rail device that includes right andleft lower rails and right and left upper rails, the base covercomprises an inclined portion that is formed at a portion of the basecover that corresponds to an upper side of a front end portion of one ofthe right and left upper rails, and the inclined portion has anarc-shape in a seat side view and is inclined upward from a front sideto a rear side of the inclined portion.
 3. The vehicle seat according toclaim 1, wherein: the base cover comprises a recessed portion that isrecessed downward from an upper surface of the base cover.
 4. Thevehicle seat according to claim 3, wherein: the recessed portioncomprises a pair of side wall portions and a bottom wall portion thatconnects the pair of side wall portions.
 5. The vehicle seat accordingto claim 3, wherein: a reinforcement rib is formed on a back surface ofthe base cover that faces the support base; and the reinforcement rib isprovided around the recessed portion.
 6. The vehicle seat according toclaim 3, wherein: the base cover comprises a protruding portion that isformed at a rear of the recessed portion and that protrudes upward. 7.The vehicle seat according to claim 3, wherein: the base cover comprisesa front cover portion and a rear cover portion, the recessed portion isintegrally formed with the front cover portion; the vehicle seat furthercomprises a seat pivot shaft about which the seat back is pivotable; andthe base cover is configured to be separable, at a position where theseat pivot shaft is located, in a front and rear direction into thefront cover portion and the rear cover portion.
 8. A vehicle seat,comprising: a seat back and a seat cushion connected to the seat, theseat back and the seat cushion being retractable to a retraction floorof a vehicle body floor; a support base connected to the vehicle bodyfloor, disposed below the seat cushion, and pivotally connected to alower end of the seat back so that the lower end of the seat back ispivotable; a base cover that covers the support base from above thesupport base; and right and left rail devices that support the seat backand the seat cushion so that the seat back and the seat cushion aremovable in a seat front to rear direction, wherein: the base covercovers at least a part of the right and left rail devices from above theright and left rail devices, the base cover comprises an inclinedportion that is formed on a front side of the base cover; and theinclined portion has an arc-shape in a seat side view and is inclinedupward from a front side to a rear side of the inclined portion.
 9. Thevehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein: the base cover comprises arecessed portion, and the recessed portion comprises a pair of side wallportions and a bottom wall portion that connects the pair of side wallportions.
 10. The vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein: the basecover comprises a recessed portion that is recessed downward from anupper surface of the base cover, a reinforcement rib is formed on a backsurface of the base cover that faces the support base, the reinforcementrib is provided around the recessed portion.
 11. The vehicle seataccording to claim 8, wherein: the vehicle seat is configured to beswitched between a seatable state and a retracted state, the base covercomprises a contact portion that contacts with the seat cushion when thevehicle seat moves from the seatable state to the retracted state, andthe contact portion of the base cover is separated from the seat cushionwhen the vehicle seat is in the retracted state.
 12. The vehicle seataccording to claim 8, wherein: the base cover comprises a recessedportion, and a protruding portion that is formed at a rear of therecessed portion and that protrudes upward.
 13. The vehicle seataccording to claim 8, wherein: the base cover comprises a front coverportion and a rear cover portion, the vehicle seat further comprises aseat pivot shaft about which the seat back is pivotable, and the basecover is configured to be separable, at a position where the seat pivotshaft is located, in a front and rear direction into the front coverportion and the rear cover portion.
 14. A vehicle seat, comprising: aseat back and a seat cushion connected to the seat, the seat back andthe seat cushion being retractable to a retraction floor of a vehiclebody floor; a support base connected to the vehicle body floor, disposedbelow the seat cushion, and pivotally connected to a lower end of theseat back so that the lower end of the seat back is pivotable; and abase cover that covers the support base from above the support base,wherein: the base cover comprises a front cover portion and a rear coverportion, and a coupling portion that couples the front cover portion andthe rear cover portion is located at a front side of a rear end of thesupport base; the base cover comprises an inclined portion; and theinclined portion has an arc-shape in a seat side view.
 15. The vehicleseat according to claim 14, wherein: the base cover comprises a recessedportion, and the recessed portion comprises a pair of side wall portionsand a bottom wall portion that connects the pair of side wall portions.16. The vehicle seat according to claim 14, wherein: the base covercomprises a recessed portion, a reinforcement rib is formed on a backsurface of the base cover that faces the support base, and thereinforcement rib is provided around the recessed portion.
 17. Thevehicle seat according to claim 14, wherein: the vehicle seat isconfigured to be switched between a seatable state and a retractedstate, the base cover comprises a contact portion that contacts with theseat cushion when the vehicle seat moves from the seatable state to theretracted state, and the contact portion of the base cover is separatedfrom the seat cushion when the vehicle seat is in the retracted state.18. The vehicle seat according to claim 14, wherein: the base covercomprises a recessed portion, and a protruding portion that is formed ata rear of the recessed portion and that protrudes upward.